50 Years Ago - 1972 - saw the release of some big albums and songs.
James Taylor released his fourth album One Man Dog featuring his #14 hit "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight."
Bette Midler released her debut solo album The Divine Miss M. It was mostly a covers album and included her #17 slower cover version of "Do You Want to Dance."
America released their second album Homecoming where they drove the "Ventura Highway" all the way to #8.
Dewey Bunnell, the song's vocalist and writer has said that the lyric "alligator lizards in the air" in the song is a reference to the shapes of clouds in the sky he saw in 1963 while his family was driving down the coast from Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, California, where they had a flat tire. While his father changed the tire, he and his brother stood by the side of the road, watched the clouds, and saw a road sign for Ventura.
The Moody Blues released their eighth album Seventh Sojourn featuring their #12 "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)" song.
James Brown released his thirty-fourth album (he might have been the hardest working man in showbiz) Get on the Good Foot. The title track was a #1 R&B #18 Hot 100 hit.
Steely Dan released their debut album Can't Buy A Thrill featuring two of their biggest hits.
"Do It Again" was their first single making #6 on the Hot 100. The follow-up "Reelin' In the Years" made #11 on the Hot 100.
Carly Simon released her third album No Secrets and got a #1 single with "You're so Vain." She's been pretty good at keeping the identity of the subject a secret. There's been much speculation about who the song is about, it's probably a composite of three men..including Warren Beatty (second verse has been confirmed.)
The follow-up "The Right Thing to Do" made #17.
The Edgar Winter Group released their debut album They Only Come Out at Night. It featured two huge hits! "Frankenstein" was a #1 instrumental hit. This was followed by a song written by "Free Ride" written by Dan Hartman. It was a #14 Hot 100 hit.
War released their fifth album The World is a Ghetto. "The Cisco Kid" was the first single peaking at #2. it describes the TV adventures of Cisco and Pancho from the 50s.
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